Chapter 70: Doubts

"Holy shit!"

"Not taking him? Brother, are you serious?"

Shang Bin, Cao Xiong, Shen Biru and the others grabbed their hair, nearly going crazy.

Today's shocks were more than they had seen in their entire lives.

Who was Wang Tao? A super genius ranked in the top ten of the academy's grade, every teacher scrambled to take him as a student. Elder Shang Chen had only managed to snatch him up by virtue of his position as dean of academic affairs...

Such a genius, coupled with the personal request of the head of the Wang family, and you... actually refused?

Shang Bin and the others felt as if they had taken ten thousand points of damage, barely able to breathe.

Just a moment ago they had cursed him for not being able to recruit students, and now... the Wang family head had sent his son over, and more importantly... he wouldn't take him!

"My heart, my liver..."

Elder Shang Chen felt blood churning in his throat, ready to spew out at any moment.

Was there no justice? Was there no law?

I am an elder, the dean of academic affairs. You drop my class to go to a guy with a zero teaching evaluation, and that's fine, but the key is he won't take you...

Elder Shang Chen felt as if his face had been ripped off, crushed, and thrown on the ground. He wished he could find a crack to crawl into.

Too humiliating!

Humiliated to the extreme!

On the side, Elder Mo Xiang's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.

He had already changed his view of this Teacher Zhang a bit, but now it seemed that wasn't enough!

"Not taking him?" Patriarch Wang Hong was also extremely embarrassed and immediately signaled his son with his eyes.

"Please, Teacher Zhang, accept me as your student!"

Wang Tao quickly stepped forward, knelt down, and spoke with utmost sincerity.

He had indeed looked down on this Teacher Zhang before, but after witnessing his sister's legs being healed and her strength skyrocketing, and recalling how his own sword strike had been caught between two fingers yesterday, he was now completely convinced.

"I won't take him." Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

Students choose teachers, but teachers also choose students!

This Wang Tao had barged into the classroom the day before, showing no respect for his elders, and even attacked him with a weapon. How could he possibly accept him as a student?

Even Zhao Ya back then, who only questioned him a few times, was punished by cleaning!

As a teacher, if he lost his authority, students would look down on him. How could he then teach them effectively?

"I know I was reckless and offended the teacher. I hope Teacher Zhang will forgive me for my youth and ignorance of etiquette, and not hold it against me!" Wang Tao knew the reason and quickly said.

The dignity of the teacher must not be insulted. He had drawn his sword to attack the man, and the other party hadn't even held a grudge. Now he wanted to become his student—being rejected was only natural!

"Yes, my son didn't know of the teacher's great talent at the time, so he might have been a bit impulsive. I hope the teacher will understand..." Patriarch Wang Hong also quickly explained.

"Patriarch Wang, no need to say more. I think this Teacher Zhang's refusal isn't because of that!"

Just then, a voice rang out inopportunely.

Following the sound, they saw it was Cao Xiong, who had failed the academic heart interrogation.

If it were earlier, Elder Shang Chen's authority could have helped him offset the punishment, or even find a way to drag things out and dilute the bet. But now, with Patriarch Wang Hong himself coming to beg Zhang Xuan, the bet from the failed interrogation was probably unavoidable!

Since it had come to this, he didn't care about tearing off all pretense.

"Hmm?" Hearing someone interrupt, Patriarch Wang Hong's face darkened with displeasure.

"This Zhang Xuan's own strength is only at the third level of martial artist, the True Energy realm, while Young Master Wang Tao is a fourth-level Skin and Bone realm expert. If his strength is inferior, how can he teach or guide? His refusal is out of self-awareness!"

Cao Xiong roared with a twisted face.

"Exactly! He can't even match Young Master Wang Tao in strength. Taking him as a student—what a joke!" Shang Bin also caught on and quickly added.

"Patriarch Wang, think twice. It's fine that you dropped my class, but having Young Master Wang Tao study under someone weaker than him will not be easy for his future cultivation!" Elder Shang Chen's eyes also flickered.

That's right. This Zhang Xuan's strength was only at the third level of martial artist, the True Energy realm—a fact known to everyone in the academy.

A fourth-level expert taking a teacher weaker than himself was a joke in itself!

"This..."

Patriarch Wang Hong's heart skipped a beat.

He had only heard from Wang Ying about Zhang Xuan's astonishing teaching theories, not his exact cultivation level.

Although Wang Tao had fought him, he had never mentioned it, so he didn't know either.

If what they said was true, and this Teacher Zhang really was only at the True Energy realm, then he truly couldn't teach Wang Tao!

Although a teacher could impart knowledge through theory alone, cultivation required personal experience for deeper insight. If the teacher hadn't achieved it himself, he probably couldn't teach effective methods.

It was like a teacher in Zhang Xuan's previous life presenting a problem—if the teacher couldn't solve it, how could he teach the student?

Many things required the teacher to know first, so the student could know later.

Otherwise, no matter how good the theory, it was like a flower in a mirror or the moon in water—utterly useless.

"Zhang Xuan, even if you want to teach Young Master Wang Tao, do you have the ability? If not, stop putting on airs. The True Energy realm might fool some new students, but it won't work on seniors!" Seeing Zhang Xuan silent, Cao Xiong's eyes gleamed with excitement and malice.

"Yes, Patriarch Wang, Teacher Cao Xiong is right. Zhang Xuan hasn't even broken through to the fourth level himself, so he naturally doesn't know how to cultivate. How can he guide Skin and Bone realm training?" Elder Shang Chen regained his confidence and stroked his beard.

"No, you're all wrong!" Hearing the mockery, Wang Tao couldn't hold back and quickly stood up to explain: "Who says Teacher Zhang's strength is inferior to mine? Yesterday, when I unintentionally offended him, I struck with all my strength, and he caught it lightly with two fingers. If he were only at the True Energy realm, that would be impossible!"

"Caught with two fingers? Haha, Young Master Wang Tao, even if you want to save face for him, at least make it believable!"

Cao Xiong sneered: "You are a late-stage fourth-level Skin and Bone realm expert, with strength exceeding 700 kilograms. Add the speed and weight of the sword, and even an early-stage Acupoint Opening realm expert would find it hard to catch barehanded, let alone with two fingers... You're not saying that our Teacher Zhang, who scored zero in the teaching evaluation, has reached the Acupoint Opening realm, like the elders, are you!"

Though a sword is light, a full-force strike from a late-stage Skin and Bone realm expert is as fast as lightning. Unless one has deep knowledge of the opponent's sword technique and knows the exact attack direction, even an early-stage Acupoint Opening realm expert would struggle to catch it... Wang Tao claiming that the academy's worst teacher caught it casually—what a joke!

"I saw it too. The teacher caught it with two fingers!" Liu Yang also quickly explained.

He had witnessed the scene that day with his own eyes; there was no falsehood.

But his high trust in Zhang Xuan, instead of helping, only made it seem to outsiders like he was covering up lies.

"Patriarch Wang, you are a cultivation expert!" Ignoring their explanations, Elder Shang Chen sneered: "Do you think it's possible for someone below the mid-Acupoint Opening realm to catch Young Master Wang Tao's full-force sword strike with two fingers?"

"This..." Patriarch Wang Hong paused.

Catching Wang Tao's full-force sword strike with two fingers—even an ordinary Acupoint Opening realm expert would find it very difficult!

Although this Teacher Zhang had good theories, reaching the mid-Acupoint Opening realm at such a young age... even he found it hard to believe.

After all, it would be too astonishing!

"Young Master Wang Tao, I know you want to take Zhang Xuan as your teacher, so you deliberately say these things to boost his reputation. But everything has limits; too much is not good..." Seeing Wang Hong fall silent, Elder Shang Chen waved his hand grandly, exuding an air of authority. He was about to continue with some profound theories to prove the claim false when the duty teacher's voice rang out again from outside the room.

"Elder Shang!"

"What is it?" Frowning, Elder Shang Chen was displeased.

Can't you see I'm in the middle of showing off?

So tactless!

"Someone outside is seeking Teacher Zhang Xuan and has come here..." the duty teacher said hastily.

"Seeking Zhang Xuan? Who?"

What's going on today?

One person after another?

"It's... the Prince of Zhennan, the young prince Bai Xun!" the duty teacher replied.